Aluminum-plating process.



F. MOENCH.

ALUMINUM PLATING PROCESS.

APPLICATION FILED. AUG. I6. 1915.

1,172,160; Patented Feb.15,1916.

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FREDERICK MOENCH, 0F RUSHVILLE, ILLINOIS.

ALUMINUM-PLATING PROCESS.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FREDERICK Mormon, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Rushville, in the county of Schuyler and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Aluminum-Plating Processes, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in processes of plating aluminum, and it consists in the steps hereinafter enumerated.

An object of my invention is to provide a process for plating aluminum with tin, lead, zinc, or alloys, of the same, which may be carried on in an economical manner and with very simple apparatus.

A further object of my invention is to provide a process of plating iron or other metals with aluminum.

A further object of my invention is to provide a process of the type described which may be carried out without the use of brushes or instruments for scratching or rubbing the aluminum.

A further object of my invention is to provide a process of "the type described, which may be conducted with a minimum amount of heat.

Other objects and advantages will appear in the following specification, and the novel features of the invention will be particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

My invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings forming part of this application, in which Figure 1 is a perspective view of an apparatus for carrying out my process, and Fig. 2 is a sectional view of the device shown in Fig. 1.

While I have shown an apparatus for carrying out my process, it will be understood that this is merely for purposes of illustration, and that the process may be carried out by any suitable apparatus.

1 first clean the aluminum with hydrofiuoric or hydrochloric acid, and afterward neutralize'the acid with bicarbonate of soda solution and then remove traces of the salt thus formed by washing with clear water. I may further cleanse with hydrogen peroxid and wash with clear water. If the aluminum is' greasy or dirty, the grease or dirt can be removed with a solution of canstic-soda or potash. If the aluminum is of good quality and clean, it needs no preliminary preparation.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed August 16, 1915.

Patented Feb. 15, 1916. Serial No. 45,674.

In carrying out the process, it is preferable to provide a vessel like that shown at 1 in the drawing. This vessel it will be seen is an elongated vessel of suitable size, and which is adapted to be filled with lead, tin, or zinc 2. A flame 3 is applied to the bottom of the vessel near one end. 'When the lead or tin begins to melt the aluminum is heated to the melting point of the lead, tin, or zinc and plunged into the melted metal and drawn up and down and rotated in the mushy metal between the frozen and the liquid metal. In Fig. 2 I have shown the melted portion of the metal at 2*, the frozen portion at 2, the aluminum at 4, and the mushy portion at 2 between the melted portion 2' and the frozen portion 2. When the aluminum is removed, it is better to draw it up through the end of the vessel containing the melted metal. -Now, by sharp taps the excess of metal will fall ofi. This can be repeated one or two times as required. By rubbing the aluminum to be plated against the semi-melted metal, all of the oxid is removed from the aluminum easily, and the plating is found to adhere to all parts of the aluminum.

The vessel in which the process is carried out should be preferably tinned, and so should the pliers or other instrument with which the article to be plated is handled. The tin, lead or zinc in the end of the vessel or melting pot over the flame should be barely melted. This dipping process eliminates all brushes and scratching of the aluminum with a sharp instrument. The flame, melting pot, lead, tin, zinc, aluminum, and something to handle the aluminum are all that are required.

It will be seen that the process if followed out in accordance with the description is a simple one. It dispenses with expensive plating apparatus, it does not require instruments for rubbing or scratching, and is in fact a mere dipping process. The rubbing of the aluminum on the mushy portion of the melted metal suffices to remove the oxid so that the melted metal can gain access to the aluminum, and thereby plate it.

My in ention also contemplates the plating of other metals, such as iron, with aluminum. The process is'identical with that already described. The iron can be dipped into the melted aluminum and, in rubbing the iron in the semi-fluid aluminum, the oxid on the latter is scraped so as to permit the pure aluminum to have access to the iron, thereby plating it. copper, nickel, and all the finer metals may be treated in the same Way.

I claim 1. The herein described process of plating metal which consists in bringing the metal which is to be used as the plating medium, to a semi-fluid state and rubbing the metal to be plated in the semi-fluid portions of the plating medium and subsequently moving the metal to be plated into the melted portion of the plating medium.

2. The herein described process of plating metal, which consists in heating an oblong body of metal to be used as a plating medium near one end until the latter is melted near its heated end, plunging into the melted portion of the plating medium an article to be plated, rubbing said article against the semifluid portion of the plating medium, and removing the article thus rubbed to the more Other metals such as fluid portion of the plating medium Without permitting the access of air.

3. The herein described plating process which consists in heating one end of a vessel containing a metal to be used as the plating medium, whereby a portion of the metal is melted, and a portion remains in the solid state, immersing an article to be plated in the melted portion of the plating medium, rubbing said article against the semi-fluid portion between the melted portion and the solid portion of the plating medium, and re moving the article to the more fluid portion of the melted plating medium to permit the melted metal to have access to the parts rubbed, and subsequently withdrawing the article to be plated from the melted portion of the plating medium. I

- FREDERICK MOENCH.

Witnesses:

H. H. SPEED, H. M. BILLINosLEY. 

